


When the World Throws You Lemons

by DebbieF



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen, Involves a downsized approx. 7 year old Daniel Jackson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-21
Updated: 2013-07-21
Packaged: 2017-12-20 22:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/892629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DebbieF/pseuds/DebbieF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daniel gets shrunk once more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When the World Throws You Lemons

Daniel Jackson had just concluded a lecture on Stargate 101 for a select group

of new recruits and civilian personnel; he was headed back to his own office but  
stopped when he saw some familiar faces. Doctors Caroli and Wilhelm were in his  
archaeological department and right now seemed to be having some difficulty  
carrying a heavy object by themselves.  
  
"Can I be of some help?" Daniel asked. He was always glad to lend a helping  
hand.  
  
Doctor Caroli was swearing a blue streak, when he heard his boss's voice. His  
head snapped up and looked in the general direction of where the voice had come  
from. "Hi, Daniel."  
  
Stepping closer to the men, Daniel examined the ornate box. It was fairly large  
and rectangular in shape with, what appeared to be, writing all over it.  
"Uh... is that Ancient writing on it?" He looked from one doctor to the other and  
could tell no answers were going to be forthcoming. He peered closer and was  
astonished. "It is in Ancient!" Stating the obvious, he asked, "This is coming  
to our department?"  
  
"Yes, sir, I mean, Daniel." Doctor Wilhelm was fairly new to the project and  
still couldn't get used to how easy going the young professor was with his  
staff. The doctor smiled sheepishly and still felt ill at ease in his presence.  
  
"Ummmm.... who okayed this?" Daniel hadn't been notified of any major find from  
any of the teams that were off-world. Usually, something of this nature meant  
they called him out into the field, before it would be transported back to the  
SGC. His gut clenched. He was not in his _happy place_.  
  
"General Hammond did, sir." Doctor Wilhelm started to pick up on Daniel's  
uneasiness. "When SG-6 radioed in about finding this, he gave the go ahead for  
it to be brought back here."  
  
"That's not standard protocol." Daniel's brows rose almost to his hairline.  
"Something's wrong here. I just don't know what." He looked back at both men.  
"Don't take that anywhere else until I get back to you." The young linguist  
walked into the nearest office that had a telephone handy.  
  
"Does he do this often?" Doctor Wilhelm asked. Being the new kid on the block,  
he didn't want to make any waves.  
  
"Yes... you're seeing a genius at work," Doctor Caroli answered simply. Not in  
the least phased by his boss's quirky moments.  
  
++++  
  
"General Hammond, this is Doctor Jackson. Sorry to bother you but did you, by  
any chance, issue an order for an artifact that SG-6 found to be brought back  
to the SGC? Yes, sir, just now. Doctor Caroli and Doctor Wilhelm, from my  
department, were bringing it down the hall until I stopped them." Daniel had a  
bad feeling he knew what the general's answer would be. "You didn't. Yes, sir.  
I'm going to do that right this very minute."  
  
Daniel hung up the phone with worry etched on his face. This was soooo not good.  
He raced out the door and signaled to the two men to turn around. "Guys, that's  
going back where it came from."  
  
"What do you mean, Daniel?" Doctor Caroli could see that the young man looked  
agitated. "What's wrong?"  
  
"No time for questions, Vance. We have to get that _thing_ back to the planet it  
came from _NOW_!" Daniel looked around to see if he could muster up any marines  
that could move the artifact faster than his two doctors.  
  
Spotting two huge marines coming down the hall from the other direction, Daniel  
hailed them. "Yo, men!" He signaled them to come over and quickly apprised them  
of the situation.  
  
The marines almost ran with the artifact in their hands back to the embarkation  
room with Daniel hot on their heels, followed by two bewildered doctors. They  
must have appeared an odd spectacle to other personnel they passed, as they  
raced down the hallways.  
  
++++  
  
"Walter, dial that gate address back in ASAP!" General Hammond ordered. "I can't  
believe this happened!" He glanced around the control room looking for someone  
and asked, "Where the hell is Colonel O'Neill?"  
  
"Sir, no one's sure where he is exactly." Lieutenant Darcy could tell that was  
not the answer the general wanted to hear. "We're working on it."  
  
While the general quietly steamed, he saw the embarkation room doors below open  
to let Daniel and his entourage enter.  
  
++++  
  
Looking up at the control room Daniel yelled, "Why isn't the wormhole engaged  
yet?" Time was of the essence. He wasn't sure what this alien relic was capable  
of doing, and he definitely didn't want it do anything on the base.  
  
"I just finished and can't get a lock on the planet, Doctor Jackson." Walter  
looked frustrated. "I'm going to try again."  
  
But Daniel thought they were going to run out of time before that happened.  
Hearing a funny noise, he quickly turned around; it looked like the artifact had  
finally decided to wake up. His gaze quickly took in the other men surrounding  
him and the alien box. Startling them, he shouted, "Everyone get the hell out of  
here!"  
  
Hearing the urgency in the doctor's voice, the other men tried to make their  
escape, just as the artifact began to glow. But none of them managed to leave;  
the doors having suddenly slammed shut prevented their hasty departure.  
  
The artifact's panels had detracted to expose an emerald jewel nestled in its  
center. Beams of light started to shoot out from the jewel.  
  
Everyone ducked, fearing they would be killed or worse. But it seemed that the  
artifact was indeed intelligent and definitely knew who its target was.  
  
All the other men could do was watch in horror at what would befall their brave  
Doctor Jackson.  
  
Daniel felt like he was a star in a bad B movie. Knowing what was most likely  
going to happen to him, the words, "Oh shit!" easily slipped past his lips.  
  
Sure enough the beams engulfed Daniel who suddenly found himself bathed in a  
burst of bright light. The young man felt himself grow weak, as he fell to the  
hard floor. His last thoughts, before he passed out, were wondering why there  
wasn't any pain; there's always pain whenever he was tortured... this was new.  
  
++++  
  
"Sir, sorry. Just got your message and ran up here as fast as I could," Colonel  
O'Neill said, worry in his voice. "Do you know how this happened?"  
  
"No... damn it!" Hammond pointed down below at the scene before them.  
  
"Hell! Is that Daniel down there?" The colonel started to head down the stairs  
to aid his friend but was stopped by the general's words.  
  
"Colonel, it's no use. No one can get inside. We've tried and we can't access  
the doors." General Hammond would have tore out his hair, if he had any left.  
  
O'Neill grabbed the nearest microphone and barked into it. "Daniel, can you hear  
me?" He knew in his heart that something bad had happened to his young friend,  
when he saw that he was unconscious. The colonel always wondered why it was that  
the universe had the kid in its sights. "Hell and damnation!" were all he could  
contribute, until he could help him.  
  
++++  
  
Down below, another story was unfolding....  
  
"Doctor Jackson, can you hear us!" both Caroli and Wilhelm shouted together. The  
doctors shielded their eyes from the bright glare and couldn't see the  
archaeologist at all. Standing in shock, they looked at the two marines by their  
side and saw the same thing reflected there.  
  
When the light finally faded away, it left in its wake one small, shivering  
child lost in oversized BDUs.  
  
The marines felt sucker punched, while the doctors looked on in disbelief with  
their mouths hanging open.  
  
"Is that Doctor Jackson?" Doctor Wilhelm asked shakily. He didn't know if it was  
safe to approach the boy or not.  
  
"Oh, I'd say with all certainty... yes," Doctor Caroli answered back, stunned to  
say the least.  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!" Daniel howled in torment as realization sunk in

Up in the control room, Colonel O'Neill was being held together by a single,  
fraying thread. "Damn it!" He was ready to rip open those locked doors with his  
bare hands; when those doors mysteriously decided to open, he was amazed to say  
the least.  
  
The colonel didn't need any prodding and took the steps two at a time, in his  
race to get to Daniel. His thoughts ran wild because he knew that beam did  
something to his teammate, he just didn't know what.  
  
O'Neill entered the embarkation room cautiously. His training kicked in, as he  
took in his surroundings looking for more traps. Not seeing anything ready to  
jump out at him, he focused on the pile of clothing he saw on the floor.  
  
Walking closer to it, he noticed movement and took a few quick steps back.  
Pulling out his gun he aimed it at the clothing. But when the colonel saw a pair  
of bewildered blue eyes peeking out at him, he felt his gun fall out of his  
nerveless fingers. Knowing immediately who those blue eyes belonged too, he went  
directly over to the boy that used to be his adult best friend and picked him  
up.  
  
Colonel O'Neill figured that poor Daniel would probably be feeling drained and  
out of sorts but boy was he in for a surprise. Instead of a mini, crying  
archaeologist, he found that he had a wildcat instead. The colonel's chest hurt  
from the thumping he was taking from the little monster he now held.  
  
"You better fix this, Jack!" Daniel pounded once more on his best friend's  
chest. "I didn't ask for this, and I sure as hell don't expect to grow up all  
over again! So... _FIX THIS!_ " The boy emphasized his point with another whack to  
the man's already sore chest.  
  
"You know that I bruise easily, don't cha', Danny?" Jack knew that now was not  
the time for levity but he wanted to defuse this whole mess neatly and quickly.  
  
"Are you blind? Didn't you see what that artifact did to me?" Daniel all but  
screamed. "Well, did you? It aimed straight for me. Not anyone else in the room.  
Why me, for God's sake? Why is it always me?"  
  
"That's what I keep asking myself, Danny boy. When the world throws you  
lemons... don't you know that you're supposed to duck?" Seeing the small shake of  
the kid's head, Jack chuckled. "That was something I never did seem to be able  
to drum into that overstuffed brain of yours, Doctor Jackson."  
  
As the two were talking, General Hammond approached them and looked at his small  
linguist. "I, for one, would like to damn well know who told SG-6 that it was  
allright to bring that artifact through the Stargate."  
  
"Sir, all we can tell you is that it was your voice that came through the  
M.A.L.P. and ordered us to bring it back here." Major Cantrell, the commander of  
SG-6, had just entered the room when he heard the general's question.  
  
"Just one more thing in a long list of unexplained and unexplainable universal  
shit that happens to us on a daily basis." Jack was not surprised.  
  
"Yeah, but why can't all the _shit_ happen to someone else for a change?"  
Daniel complained. He would be very content to let some other hapless soul be  
the recipient of crap that the universe can dish out.  
  
While Colonel O'Neill tried unsuccessfully to calm the boy, Major Carter  
appeared at his side.  
  
"What happened, sir?" She saw the little boy in his arms and wondered who was  
visiting them this time.  
  
"That's what we'd all like to know, Carter," O'Neill snapped, while struggling  
to keep Daniel in his grasp. The child suddenly turned into a squirming mass of  
arms and legs and he was afraid he'd drop him.  
  
"Put me down, Jack!" Daniel demanded of his friend. As soon as his feet touched  
the hard floor, he launched himself at Sam.  
  
"Whoa there," Sam said. "Who are you?" She thought he looked familiar but, for  
the life of her, couldn't conjure up the face. Small hands reached out toward  
her and she couldn't refuse. Picking the youngster up, she jiggled him a bit and  
said, "You’re sure a cutie pie."  
  
"Yuck, Sam!" Daniel exclaimed in disgust. "Don't you recognize me?"  
  
She gave him a negative shake of her head. "Sorry, can't quite place the face.  
You'll have to give me a hint."  
  
Not wanting to turn this into a guessing game, he came to the point. "I'm  
Daniel." He quickly added, "Jack can't fix me... but _you_ can. So you better  
start right away, Sam." The little boy looked back at Jack and shrugged in  
apology.  
  
"Thanks, Daniel for the vote of confidence you have in me," Jack threw back  
sarcastically.  
  
The boy re-focused his attention once more on Sam. "You can do it, I know you  
can. You've blown up a sun, so something as simple as making me big again  
shouldn't be hard... right?" he asked in a smaller voice than before.  
  
Bewildered, Carter looked toward her commanding officer. "Sir, what exactly took  
place in here?"  
  
Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond both filled her in on what they knew, which  
sadly wasn't much.  
  
Feeling her heart break just a little, Sam smiled at her little friend. "Only  
you, Daniel." She brushed a hand through his unruly, blond hair and repeated,  
"Only you."  
  
"Yeah, that's what I've been saying to everyone too," the boy agreed.  
  
"Is it safe to touch that artifact now, do you think?" Sam asked Daniel.  
  
"How the hell should I know that?" Seeing her shock, he apologized. "Oops!  
Sorry, Sam. I have a runaway mouth right now. But, really I haven't a clue on  
how it works, only that it's of Ancient design, going by the writing on it."  
  
For Daniel's sake, Sam held back from saying anything that would put the  
Ancients in a bad light. She did share a look with Colonel O'Neill and going by  
his grim expression knew that they were thinking the same thing.  
  
"I'll have to see about getting it contained for now and taken to Carter's lab  
for her to futz with." The colonel looked at everyone gaping at him. "What? We  
all know how she loves to _futz_ with thingamajigs."  
  
Giggling, Daniel nodded his head in agreement. "Jack, who am I going to stay  
with until I'm me again?"  
  
"Why, kiddo, thought you'd guess that one without having to be told."  
  
"Maybe I'm not as smart as you think I am, Jack," Daniel fired back  
apprehensively, feeling very insecure.  
  
Colonel O'Neill walked toward Carter and motioned for her to hand the boy back  
over to him.  
  
"You see, Danny, I've got this spare bedroom that my best friend always uses  
when he stays at my place. It's still yours if you want it. I'm just going to  
have to child-proof my house all over again."  
  
Hugging Jack's neck tightly, Daniel replied, "It’s the only place I'd want to  
be.

Major Carter felt like banging her head on the nearest wall. She'd been eating  
and sleeping in her lab since Daniel's downsizing. The Ancient box had not  
revealed any of its secrets to her. She had begged Doctor Lee for his help with  
this one and he wasn't faring much better. The major had also borrowed several  
of Daniel's assistants from his department. Everyone was eager to lend their  
support to help her solve the mystery of the alien artifact.  
  
"Any luck, Sam?" Daniel poked his head in for about the fourth time in twenty  
minutes.  
  
"Daniel, you just asked that five minutes ago." Sam rolled her eyes. "My answer  
is the same as it was then and the time before that and the time before."  
  
"I get it, Sam, I'm being a pest." Daniel hung his head in shame but when he  
lifted it again, there was a mischievous twinkle shining in his eyes. "But, you  
love me just the same... right?"  
  
"Of course I do, honey. Just, please, if you insist on interrupting me, I'll  
never get anything accomplished." Sam missed her adult friend. Everyone on base  
referred to them as the *science twins*. Technically, Daniel really wasn't a  
scientist but some on base could never tell the difference. Once they were in  
full _geek mode_ there was no stopping them. She sure would like to pick his  
brains. But this smaller version couldn't possibly be able to help her.  
  
Doctor Lee had been listening in to their conversation and had a suggestion of  
his own to make. "Uh, excuse me for butting in but if Daniel wants to watch us  
work, he can do it safely from up in the control booth."  
  
"That's a wonderful idea, Bill," Daniel said with enthusiasm. "I can offer  
helpful ideas to you as you work. This is great!"  
  
Major Carter was not impressed and glared at the doctor. "Thanks a lot, Doctor  
Lee."  
  
He turned bewildered eyes on her. "What? There's nothing wrong with him sitting  
in. Matter of fact, he may be able to help us with our dilemma."  
  
"How? He's what? All of seven years old." She shook her head at him. "I  
sincerely doubt he can contribute much."  
  
"This is Doctor Jackson we're talking about. You, of all people, should respect  
his knowledge, no matter what age he is. And I'm surprised I'm having this  
conversation with you. What's wrong?"  
  
Major Carter threw her pencil and tablet down on the table. "Oh, I don't know.  
Maybe it's having my best friend turned into a child," she answered back  
sarcastically. It wasn't at all like her but she was feeling extremely  
frustrated. Daniel expected her to pull a miracle out of her butt, going so far  
as to remind her that she blew up a sun.  
  
Her thoughts were abruptly halted, when the little boy cried out something from  
the control booth. "What was that, Daniel? I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention."  
  
"Sam, I figured out that part of the writing on it talks about a _rebirth_."  
  
She exchanged a look with Doctor Lee. "Tell us something we don't know, Daniel.  
We realized that just by looking at you."  
  
"Yeah, that wasn't much help," Daniel said chagrined. "Sorry, Sam."  
  
"Wait a sec. How could you read that writing from clear up there?" Sam started  
to wonder if Daniel had suddenly developed psychic powers.  
  
"I can answer that one, Major Carter." Doctor Lee looked smugly at her. "I  
installed a magnification screen in the booth. Daniel's used it before." Then he  
looked puzzled. "I thought you knew about it."  
  
"Apparently not," she snapped. Looking back up at the booth and the young boy  
sitting quietly, she said, "Daniel, don't hold back. If you see something you  
think we should know about holler out."  
  
"Will do, Sam." Daniel was all but bouncing up and down with excitement. He got  
to stay and he was going to do his best to help them solve the mystery of his  
downsizing.  
  
++++  
  
"Any word, sir?" Colonel O'Neill had been ordered to see General Hammond at once  
and just arrived at his commanding officer's office.  
  
"No, son. Major Carter, Doctor Lee and several members from Doctor Jackson's  
department are putting their heads together, as we speak."  
  
"I've put out calls to all our allies out there and hope to hear back from, at  
least, one of them shortly." The colonel was very worried that none of them  
would be able to help. When shit hits the fan as it always seems to do at the  
SGC, none of their so-called allies were ever around when it counted.  
  
"Let's hope that we can fix this one on our own, Jack." General Hammond also  
didn't put much faith in any response from their allies. He counted on his own  
personnel to figure this one out.  
  
Colonel O'Neill knew the general was just as worried about Daniel as he was.  
"Sir, where is my archaeologist? I checked in at the infirmary, where I left  
him, and he's not there."  
  
Chuckling, the general looked at his second-in-command fondly. "That youngster  
is with Major Carter. Doctor Fraiser couldn't talk that boy out of staying with  
her. He wanted to be where the action was, as the boy put it."  
  
"Of course he would. What was I thinking?" The colonel knew he was slipping to  
not have figured that one out for himself. "Permission to go see my kid, sir."  
  
"Permission granted, Colonel." General Hammond saluted the younger officer and  
sat back at his desk. He wondered if the President ever had days like this.  
  
++++  
  
"This is ridiculous!" Major Carter grumbled, as she looked up at Daniel. "I'm  
going cross-eyed here."  
  
"Sure you don't want me down there with you, Sam?" Daniel asked innocently,  
while batting his huge blue eyes at her.  
  
"NO!" Sam and Doctor Lee both shouted back in tandem. Then they looked at each  
other and tried not to laugh.  
  
"Well, there's no need to yell at me! Geez... grownups!" Daniel threw up his  
hands in disgust.  
  
"Sorry, Daniel," Doctor Lee apologized. "We just don't want to be responsible  
for anything else happening to you."  
  
"Like what, for God's sake? I'm _shrunk_! How much worse can it get?" Daniel  
wondered what was in the coffee those two had been drinking. Maybe he should  
have some of it.  
  
"There's always the case that you could touch something you shouldn't and be  
turned into a baby," Sam explained. "and the SGC is no place for a baby. It's  
bad enough that you were turned into a little child."  
  
"Right! Don't rub it in. I understand completely." Still, Daniel didn't think it  
would hurt for him to be closer to the Ancient relic. He felt that the closer he  
was to it, the better were his chances of solving this puzzle.  
  
Daniel, indeed, had a great view of the writing because of the magnification  
level of the screen. He was tracing the outline of one of the letters that was  
visible on the box and noticed it started to glow. The boy didn't think it was a  
coincidence either but wondered if Sam and Bill saw it, as he looked down below.  
  
++++  
  
"What was that, Major?" Doctor Lee started to think his eyes needed examined.  
  
"I didn't see anything." She looked at him and back at the box again. "What did  
you think you saw?"  
  
"I thought I saw the writing or, at least, one of the letters start to glow." He  
saw the look she gave him. "It's just probably eye strain, a trick of the  
light... or something."  
  
"Or something," she repeated and looked up at Daniel.  
  
++++  
  
Daniel smiled to himself. This could be fun. So, he started to touch all the  
letters, one by one. Then he waited for their reaction.

Major Carter closed her eyes and then opened them again. Rubbing them hard, she  
thought that would clear her vision up. Nope, she started to see the same thing  
that Doctor Lee did. The writing had started glowing. Looking up at her friend  
once more, she asked, "Daniel, do you see what's happening?"  
  
Trying very hard not to laugh, he responded. "Yeah, Sam, I do."  
  
She glanced at the box and then back again at Daniel. Turning to Doctor Lee she  
said, "I was right."  
  
"What do you mean by that, Major Carter?" The doctor didn't know what she was on  
about this time.  
  
"It doesn't matter where Daniel is... trouble always finds him."  
  
"Okay, I can agree up to a point. But what has that to do with the glowing  
letters?"  
  
"It's Daniel, he's the one responsible for this," she answered. Turning her  
face up toward the booth, Sam squinted. Nothing looked out of place, that she  
could see. "Daniel, whatever you're doing... stop it!"  
  
"Aw, Saaaaam!" he whined. "I was just starting to have some fun."  
  
Doctor Lee was shocked and shouted up to the boy. "I didn't know you retained  
any abilities from when you were Ancient."  
  
"Neither did I, Bill. Must be because I'm smaller. But, isn't this fun?" Daniel  
grinned down at his friends.  
  
"That's a matter of opinion, Daniel." The major glanced at the stunned doctor  
and took pity on him. "I did warn you, you know."  
  
"Amazing," Doctor Lee murmured, just as they were interrupted by Colonel O'Neill  
barging in.  
  
"Where's my munchkin?" the officer demanded, as his gaze took in the cramped  
lab.  
  
She pointed up to the booth. "Safe and sound, sir."  
  
"Daniel's never _safe_ and never _sound_ , Major. Every grey hair on my head belongs to  
that little boy up there." The colonel was anything but happy, to know that his  
young friend was even near the contraption that turned him into a little squirt.  
  
Carter could tell that the colonel was apprehensive about Daniel being so near  
the box. "Believe me, sir, he can't get into any trouble just sitting there."  
She dared not tell him about Daniel's dancing fingers and the light show she and  
Doctor Lee just witnessed. No telling how her commanding officer would react.  
  
O'Neill turned to look at her as if she had grown two heads. "Carter, this is _Daniel_

we're talking about. Remember the walking, talking, _trouble_  
 _magnet_?... my kid's just shorter," he retorted.  
  
"If you say so, sir." She looked at Doctor Lee for some help.  
  
"Major Carter is correct, Colonel O'Neill. Daniel's not close to it and is fine  
where he is."  
  
"Seeing as neither of you believe me, I think I'll go up there and join him."  
O'Neill turned and walked out the room.  
  
Relieved, both the major and the doctor breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
++++  
  
Sitting beside his young friend, Jack put an arm around Daniel's shoulder and  
hugged him. "You doing okay, kiddo?"  
  
"Uh huh," he shrugged. "Jack, you have to stop terrorizing them. Nothing will  
get done," Daniel complained.  
  
"Who, moi? I was just giving them some friendly advice."  
  
"Like hell you were!" Daniel would not let his best friend intimidate his staff  
or Sam and Bill.  
  
"Okey dokey then. I see that feisty Danny is back and in full swing again." Jack  
held up his hands. "Just, no more pounding on my chest, please. I still have  
bruises, thank you very much."  
  
"You're an idiot, you know that, Jack" Daniel started to laugh. "But you're my  
 _idiot_ and I love you!"  
  
"Ditto, kid... ditto" Looking around the room, Jack winced. "Isn't it a little  
closterphobic in here for you?"  
  
"Nope." Daniel turned questioning eyes upon Jack. "Why? Does it bother you?" He  
was surprised as silence followed. "I thought all you black ops soldiers were  
used to all types of places."  
  
"We are. Just that small spaces bring back some rather unpleasant memories for  
me. That's all, Danny." He ran a hand through the boy's bangs and started to  
stand up, when he felt a small hand wrap around one of his own.  
  
"Sorry, Jack. I forgot about that time in Iraq." Daniel could have kicked  
himself. He knew his friend still had nightmares from his time as a captive.  
  
"S'okay, Danny. Don't worry about it." Jack smiled down at his friend. "Well,  
since everything's in hand up here, I've got paperwork up to my eyeballs to catch up on in my  
office."  
  
"You finally figured out where your office is?" Daniel chortled.  
  
"Wise ass." Jack swatted at the boy, before he left.  
  
As Daniel watched him leave, he suddenly had a feeling of being watched. "Oma,  
is that you?" He didn't want to discuss this with his friends earlier; with  
everything that just went down, it had all the markings of the Ancients written  
all over it and he didn't just mean the relic.  
  
Daniel didn't receive any reply to his question, not that he was surprised by  
that. He didn't know what he was thinking. The Ancients never bothered  
themselves with lower beings, especially not with someone that decided to  
descend like himself. This was just hopeful thinking on his part.  
  
Still, he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye; it seemed that  
a small area of the room had started to glow. He didn't cry out when tendrils of  
white light slipped past the walls. Daniel looked down below and saw that Sam  
and Bill were oblivious as to what was going on in the booth. He was of two  
minds whether to call out for help.  
  
The tendrils reached out to touch the youngster's face. Instead of pulling back,  
Daniel actually leaned into the touch. It felt soft and tingly, like the times  
his mother used to kiss his cheek when he was small... the first time around.  
  
"Oma... is that you?" he whispered.  
  
A gentle voice, in the air, responded softly. "No, Daniel. Remember she still  
fights Anubis."  
  
"Oh yeah, how could I forget that," Daniel remarked. "Then who are you?"  
  
"Can't you guess, Daniel Jackson?" she asked in some irritation. The Ancient  
couldn't believe he had forgotten about her in so short a time.  
  
Something at the back of Daniel's mind nagged at him. Thinking hard, he  
scrunched up his face. "Nope... I got nothing."  
  
"You sound so much like Colonel O'Neill, little one. Try a little harder and it  
might come to you," she urged.  
  
"You know, I really don't have time to play _twenty questions_ with you. If it  
hasn't escaped your omnipotent notice, I'm a kid again. No thanks to your  
technology."  
  
He could feel the Ancient's sighing breath against his cheek. "Come on, who are  
you and why are you bothering me now?"  
  
The form of the Ancient materialized instantly and much to the child's  
surprise it _was_ someone he knew and thought never to see again.  
  
"Morgan LeFey?" Bewildered, his mouth fell open. "But aren't you fighting  
Adria?"  
  
"I beat her, Daniel. Why do you look so surprised?"  
  
"Because... because Oma's still fighting Anubis. I thought you'd be struggling  
just like her against the Orici."  
  
"I've got a secret, Daniel," she paused for effect. "I was sneakier than Adria."  
  
Giggling, he indicated for her to sit beside him. "You know, if they see you,  
all hell's going to break loose."  
  
"I am invisible to them, child. I just wanted to let you know why this has  
happened to you."  
  
"Oh really," he snarked. "Please, do inform me." Daniel crossed his arms and  
waited for her to enlighten him.  
  
"Don't be like that, Daniel. Look upon this as a gift."  
  
"A gift! You have got to be kidding me! Couldn't someone just have given me a  
 _Welcome Wagon_ basket and be done with it?"  
  
Morgan didn't know how to answer that and didn't even bother to try. "This is  
your reward for all you have done in your efforts to rid the universe of the Ori  
and their terrible evil."  
  
"It's a hell of a reward! What am I supposed to do now? They won't let me  
through the Stargate like this. I hate to tell you but as a reward... this sucks  
big time!"  
  
"This is not permanent. It's for as long as you want it to be," Morgan explained  
rather petulantly. Not understanding why he was acting this way.  
  
"Mmmmphf! Reward," Daniel muttered to himself. Looking back at her suspiciously,  
he asked. "For as long as I want?"  
  
"Yes, Daniel. The decision is up to you."  
  
"How's this supposed to work?" He was afraid there was going to be a condition  
wrapped up in this somehow.  
  
"You deserve to re-live, what should have been, a happy childhood. Or at least  
as much of one as you would like... and with whom you would like to spend it  
with."  
  
"So, let's say that I'd only want to be like this for a week or so. You mean all  
I have to do is think myself big again and I will be?" It couldn't be as easy as  
that, he thought. Nothing ever had been in his life.  
  
"Yes, and if you want to stay like this for even a whole year, that's exactly  
all you have to do, Daniel. Like I said, it's our version of a reward."  
  
"I could come up with plenty of other names for it and _reward_ would not be at  
the top of my hit list."  
  
"I just wanted you to know that no harm was or is meant to you. You're very  
special to us. Know that there are now many among us who want to walk the same  
path you have chosen."  
  
"I stirred up some dirt huh?" At her nod, he grinned. "Well, it's nice to know  
that some of the Jackson charm still works. Jack will get a kick out of knowing  
I started a small rebellion with the _Others_."  
  
Morgan smiled at that and stood up to leave but Daniel stopped her.  
  
"Morgan, thank you. I think I will enjoy myself for a little while like this."  
  
"I see a look in your eyes that I remember from when you were ascended. It  
didn't bode well then either. What do you have in mind, young one?"  
  
"All the trouble that I can get away with for as long as I can, Morgan," he  
answered simply.  
  
"Daniel... Daniel... Daniel." She started to glow but before she left, Morgan  
placed a kiss on the boy's forehead. "May all of heaven's angels watch out for  
you."  
  
"Does that include the Ancients too?"  
  
"We always look out for you, Daniel. We have never stopped." Morgan actually  
winked at him. "I will pop in from time to time to check up on you. Colonel  
O'Neill may need moral support," she said cheekily.  
  
Laughing, Daniel waved goodbye. Boy, did he have a story to tell!  
  
The End


End file.
